Wood on Words: Confusing terms come in threes

Friday

Feb 11, 2011 at 12:01 AMFeb 11, 2011 at 11:16 AM

When you’ve been a copy editor as long as I have, you develop a kind of radar to alert you to certain words. They’re troublemakers. For the next few weeks, I’ll be writing about these public enemies of English. In no particular order of orneriness, these are the words I have had to correct most frequently. For starters, here’s a group I’ll call the “trying trios.”

Barry Wood

When you’ve been a copy editor as long as I have, you develop a kind of radar to alert you to certain words. They’re troublemakers.

For the next few weeks, I’ll be writing about these public enemies of English. In no particular order of orneriness, these are the words I have had to correct most frequently.

For starters, here’s a group I’ll call the “trying trios”:

Peak, peek and pique: These are perfect homonyms — there isn’t the slightest variation in pronunciation among them.

The least used of the three is “pique,” from the French “piquer,” meaning “to prick.” As a noun, “pique” is “resentment at being slighted or disdained; ruffled pride” or “a fit of displeasure.” Technically then, a “fit of pique” is redundant.

As a verb, to “pique” is, logically enough, “to arouse resentment in, as if by slighting; ruffle the pride of.” More generally, it can mean “to arouse; provoke,” as in to “pique someone’s interest.”

The most common error with these three is using “peak” instead of “peek,” especially in the phrase “sneak peek.” I suppose that because “sneak” and “peek” rhyme, people think they should be spelled the same, so they make it “sneak peak.”

By definition, however, a “peak” is generally a conspicuous thing — a projection, the crest of a hill, a mountain. By extension, the peak of anything is its “highest or utmost point.”

Therefore, a peak would not be easily sneaked. (By the way, never use “snuck” instead of “sneaked” unless you’re trying to be funny and your audience knows you are.)

A “peek” is a quick and furtive glance, “especially through an opening or from behind something” — as in “peekaboo.”

Here’s something that may help you remember that “peek” is the one involving our peepers. Just look at it — don’t those two “e’s” in the middle resemble peeking eyes?

Cite, sight and site: These three sound alike, too. The first one traces back to the Latin “citare,” for “to arouse, summon,” which came from “ciere,” “to put into motion, rouse.”

To “cite” is to summon, to quote, to refer to or to mention in a “citation.” It’s also the base of “excite,” “incite” and “recite.”

“Sight” is one of our five senses, whereas a “site” is a place. We go to interesting sites to see interesting sights.

The two are often mixed up as “seeing the sites.” It should be “seeing the sights,” as in “sightseeing.”

Gibe, jibe and jive: In this threesome, only the first two are homonyms. “Gibe,” origin uncertain, can be a noun or verb. To “gibe” is “to jeer or taunt; scoff (at).”

“Jibe” is principally a sailing term, from the Dutch “gijpen” for “to shift over” the sails and, originally, “to gasp for air.”

Its most common use is informal for “to be in harmony, agreement or accord,” as in, “His story doesn’t jibe with the facts.”

Many people want to use “jive” there, probably because it’s a more familiar term. “Jive” is slang for “to speak (to) in a way that is exaggerated, insincere, flippant, etc., especially in trying to fool or mislead.”

In the 1930s through the mid-’40s, “jive” also was identified with “jazz” or “swing.” Nowadays it’s also a slang adjective for “insincere, misleading, fake, fraudulent, etc.”

No wonder it’s so easily mistaken for “jibe.”

Punctuation Station

You’ve probably noticed that periods are rapidly disappearing from abbreviations.

For example, The Associated Press style is to keep the periods in “U.N.” and “U.S.” in text, but to eliminate them in headlines.

I suppose this is another example of trying to save precious space in newspapers, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it yet. It just looks too strange to me.

And if you’re trying to get people accustomed to seeing this change, why put it in larger type first?

Contact Barry Wood at bwood@rrstar.com or read his blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/woodonwords/.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.